Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Poetry Wednesday, Vol. 85

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.
I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.
--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

4 comments:

Kris, I'm fascinated by that poem. I love the style of it - conversational, yet multi-dimensional. What are the odds of Ms. Bishop guest hosting one of our poetry wednesdays to offer insight on her work - or Wendell Berry, Scott Cairns, T.S. Eliot, Emily Dickinson for that matter. ; )

Thank you for this. The essence of the poem reminds me of Merton, and of Christ, losing everything and realizing that it is not really the disaster we thought it would be. I have learned this in small ways as little fingers often break things I love or thought I loved. Peaceful rest of the week to you.

Subscribe To

Blog Archive

About Me

You can also find me HERE

“ The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.”